Filing systems



April 28, 1959 c. B. ULRICH, JR

FILING SYSTEMS Filed June vl5, 1954 lili 1N V EN TOR.

United States FILING SYSTEMS 'Charles B. Ulrich, Jr., Lakewood, N.Y.,assignor to Watson Manufacturing Company, Inc., Jamestown, N.Y., acorporation of New York Application June 15, 1954, Serial No. 436,844

1 Claim. (Cl. 129-16.7)

This invention relates to filing systems in which a number of items onseparate sheets are assembled to select and coordinate data from thedifferent sheets, for instance, for the preparation of accounts basedupon punched card accounting systems.

'Ihe main object of the invention is a simplification of the proceduresinvolved in the handling of the data on the various sheets and cardsemployed in the presenting and recording of the data.

A further object of the invention is to provide novel tiling equipmentadapted for punched card accounting and recording which will efficientlyreceive and hold the data bearing cards and sheets and effectivelypresent them together when needed for review, accounting, billing,reporting and the like.

Further objects of the invention, particularly in the structure of thefiling equipment holding the data bearing cards, will appear from thefollowing specication taken in connection with the accompanyingdrawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is a face view on reduced scale of an index guide constructed inaccordance with the present invention;

Fig. 2 is a sectional view on line 2-2 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a diagrammatic view on reduced scale illustrating an operationof the system in connection with index guides as shown in Figs. 1 and 2,and

Fig. 4 illustrates a modification of the index guide.

In the typical tiling system illustrated in the drawings a tray (notshown) contains a series of index guides 6 assembled in order, forinstance, alphabetically by name or in a numerical sequence. Each guide6 has a stiftbacking board 8 of paper, fiber board, plastic or metalsufciently stii to prevent wrinkling of the filed cards or sheetsbetween the guides. The boards 8 are dense and hard and of a size forattachment of one or more pockets 9, 10 each adapted to receive and holda standard size punched tabulating card 11, 12 of the type, forinstance, used in the accounting systems of International BusinessMachines and Remington Rand.

An index holder 25 is provided at the top and attached to the backingbcard 8 so that the guides may be readily located and by which it may betilted for access to the records between the guides. The index 6normally carries the name and/ or number of the account or subject.

Each pocket 9, 10, is attached to the board 8, for instance, by gluingor the like, and comprises a back piece 18 and a front piece 19preferably formed with the diagonal edge 20 for easy insertion,observation and removal of the card. The left end of the front piece 19may be folded around back of the board 8 and glued to the rear surfacethereof or glued to the front piece to form an envelope pocket. Theenvelope sheet is thus glued to board 8. Each pocket will hold a numberof tabulating cards, for instance, up to ten, and retain these snuglyagainst the backing board. The corners of the pockets 9, 10 arepreferably cut off to form an opening 2,883,989 Patented Apr. 28, 1959with a diagonal edge 26 to make it easier to insert and remove the cards11, 12. Index guides 6 assembled in the tray are so arranged that theycan be compressed tightly holding the tabulating cards at and preventingwarpage. An important feature is the adaptability of the lguide todisplay the upper portion of a tabulating card which is simply moved toa vertical position as shown in full lines at 15 in Fig. 3, thus makingit visible when placed with others in a le. This effects a flagging ofthat guide and its contents as required in the system of this invention.The notch 16 of board 8 is important in permitting ready observation ofthe flagged cards when standing in the lower pocket 10. Also the upperedge of the card end may be conveniently grasped without interferencewith the board 8. The vertical nagging card may, if preferred, be placedin the upper pocket vand will then protrude well above the top of theguide as indicated in partial view in broken lines 17 in Fig. 2. Ineither upright position in pocket l0 or pocket 9 the card is visible tomark the le for active attention and indicates the guide 6 carryingpertinent data.

In this system the guide 6 carries all of the tabulating cards coveringa given subject such as an account payable of a purchasing concern Pwith a supply house S, and this will include a master card or cards withholes punched for the vendors name, address and any other items normallyrepeated in the handling of the various acknowledgments, charges,payments and the like associated with the particular account payable.

There will thus be for each supplier S a separate guide 6 led in order.Invoices from the suppliers may be presorted in the same sequence as theindex guides and filed in front of the corresponding guide. When aninvoice is so filed the operator takes one or more of the appropriatetabulating cards that are normally tiled horizontally in their pocket 9,10 and moves it or them to a vertical position as above explained andindicated at 25 in Fig. 2 exposing the upper end of the card or cardsand so automatically identifying the particular accounts in conditionfor payment.

The indexing means may be modified as shown in Fig. 4 by having anindexing tab 28 along one end of the top edge of the board 29. The tabis less than half the length of the top edge so that the guides 27 maybe turned to alternately present indexing tabs on the right and leftside of assembled or stacked guides 29.' With the tab 28 having a lengthless than half the top edge a space notch 31 is provided between thealternately arranged tabs of successive guides. The verticallypositioned cards are made visible without obscuring the index tab bypositioning the card in the notch between the indexing tabs. Themodiiication reduces the space required in the le.

Various modifications and changes may be made without departing from thescope of the invention as set forth in the appended claim.

I claim:

An indexing and filing device comprising an information containing cardof a predetermined length and Width and a generally flat rectangularlyshaped card support having a top edge with an indented portion and abottom and side edge, an index holder secured to the top edge` of saidcard support between said indented portion and a side edge, only twocard receiving pockets secured to said card support in vertically spacedrelation to one another with the bottom edge of one pocket spaced fromthe top edge of the subjacent pocket, the bottom edge of the lowermostpocket being disposed along the bottom edge of said card support, eachpocket comprising a rectangularly shaped back portion and a frontportion and a side edge portion, said back and front portions of eachpocket being formed from a single piece of material with the frontportion folded over the back portion along the bottom edge of the pocketand dening a bottom for the pocket, the back portion of each pockethaving a width equal to that of the card support and being securedthereto, the front portion. of each pocket having formed therewith theside edge portion that is secured to said card support, said frontportion of each pocket terminating in a top edge that extends from thetop of the side edge portion diagonally to the line of fold of said backand front portions at the other side edge of the card support, said backand front portions being so congured to insure the ready and easyinsertion and removal of cards into and from the pockets with the cardswhen in the pockets having the bottom edges thereof engageable with thebottom of a pocket' and at least one side edge of each card engageablewith the side edge portion of a pocket, the length of said informationcontaining card being slightly less than the width of said card supportand slightly greater than the distance between the bottom of thelowermost pocket and the indented portion of said top edge whereby aninformation containing card when positioned in the lowermost pocket witha side edge thereof engaging the bottom of the pocket will projectslightly above said indented portion but below the top edge for ilaggingand when shifted to a complementary position in the superjacent pocketwill project a substantial distance above said indented portion forflagging,

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 868,835BeXell Oct. 22, 1907 874,758 Garney Dec. 24, 1907 886,320 Ferrero Apr.28, 1908 1,083,972 Wolsieier Ian. 13, 1914 1,118,184` Chappee Nov. 24,1914 1,408,509 Housh Mar. 7, 1922 1,495,953 Dick May 27, 1924 FOREIGNPATENTS 289,214 Great Britain Apr. 2 6, 1928

